Breaking: “Criminality Witnessed in 2023 Won't be Tolerated in 2027,” Obi Talks Tough
- Peter Obi vowed to combat electoral malpractice ahead of the 2027 presidential election
- Obi's latest statement reflected unerased dissatisfaction with the 2023 Nigerian presidential election
- Nigerians already look forward to the 2027 polls with some level of optimism
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics, elections, public affairs, and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
FCT, Abuja - Presidential hopeful Peter Obi on Thursday, February 5, declared that "the criminality witnessed in 2023 will not be tolerated in 2027."
In a personally signed statement on Thursday afternoon, February 5, 2026, obtained by Legit.ng, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain urged Nigerians to "reject the backward trajectory" allegedly witnessed in the country.
Source: Twitter
Obi warns against 2027 manipulation
In 2023, Obi and his staunch supporters said the former Anambra state governor had won the February 25, 2023, presidential election, and called Bola Tinubu's victory fraudulent.
The joint ticket with Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed raised some voters' hopes for change after years of worsening hardship and violence under the president at the time, now-late Muhammadu Buhari. A legal tussle, which reached the Supreme Court, did eventually end up in President Tinubu's favour.
Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, was declared president-elect of Africa's most populous nation on March 1, 2023, having won 37% of the vote. He said the election was credible and the reported problems had no impact on the overall outcome.
Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the disputed 2023 poll, got 25%, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The opposition said the vote had been rigged after new technology that INEC had promised would make the process more transparent instead malfunctioned, eroding trust.
Election observers from the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth reported a range of problems with the election, including widespread technical failures of systems designed to prevent manipulation and improve transparency. They criticised INEC for poor planning but did not allege fraud.
Obi’s savvy social media campaign and role as the top challenger to the ruling party, in power since 2015, endeared him to many urban persons and south easterners. This earned him a loyal group of young supporters called the Obidients.
Source: Facebook
2027 election: Obi speaks against electoral fraud
Seemingly revisiting the 2023 loss, Obi shared his thoughts on reports that the National Assembly's Senate rejected a proposal to make the electronic transmission of election results mandatory.
Obi's statement reads in part:
"Let there be no illusion, the criminality witnessed in 2023 will not be tolerated in 2027. Nigerians everywhere must start getting ready to rise up, resist, and reject the backward trajectory, legitimately and decisively reclaim our country from the clutches of deliberate malevolence.
"The International community must take heed of this groundwork for continued future electoral manipulation, endangering our democracy and development."
Expert identifies major threat to 2027 election
Meanwhile, ahead of the 2027 elections, a political analyst, Segun Akinleye, has warned that weakening opposition parties and limiting political competition could reduce voter choice and harm democracy.
Akinleye, in an interview with Legit.ng, expressed fear that the 2027 elections may end up less credible.
He said:
"One of the most profound threats to the 2027 elections is the systematic erosion of political competition through induced defections from political parties and the incremental decimation of opposition parties. This distortion of the political landscape could disincentivise public participation in the 2027 elections, as voters will have limited political choices.
"Constricting the political space and the gradual descent towards a one-party state threaten Nigeria’s democratic trajectory ahead of the 2027 elections.
"When political pluralism is overtly or covertly removed from electoral politics, authoritarianism creeps in, and it diminishes the legitimacy of electoral outcomes."
Read more on Peter Obi:
- Atiku, Peter Obi absent as ADC finally gets office, location emerges
- 2027 election: Peter Obi speaks on rumoured agreement with Goodluck Jonathan to sack President Tinubu
- Peter Obi: New twist as opposition leader takes Nigeria's situation to God, photos emerge
Obi bemoans Boko Haram's attack in Kwara
Legit.ng earlier reported that Peter Obi expressed immense sadness over the terror attack in Kaiama Local Government Area (LGA), Kwara state, where Boko Haram terrorists killed hapless villagers in Worro.
Obi urged Nigerian authorities to "declare war on insecurity of lives and property and to deploy every possible means to end this scourge."
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
